Archaeologists discovered a 1,000-year-old bone skate in the Czech Republic. Credit: Zdeněk Schenk
In Přerov, Czech Republic, archaeologists at the Comenius Museum have discovered a thousand-year-old ice skate made of animal bone. This find came during their rescue dig in the city’s Upper Square.
The skate, probably crafted from a horse’s shinbone, was found alongside pottery pieces from the 10th or 11th century. Initially, this area consisted of small settlements by the Bečva River branches.
Over time, it grew into a fortified square and fortress, under the rule of Polish King Boleslav the Brave, according to Archaeology Mag.
Ancient bone skate to travel through frozen surfaces
Zdeněk Schenk, an archaeologist on the excavation team, describes the skate’s design as both straightforward and clever. It’s curved with holes drilled into it, so a strap could be attached.
“The object has a specific shape. On one side, it is curved into a tip which has a hole drilled in it and there is another hole at the back. They were used to thread a strap through, which was used to attach the skate to a shoe or to a wooden sledge,” said Schenk.
This strap would have held the skate onto a shoe or sled, making it easier for people to move across frozen surfaces. Instead of being for fun skating, these bone skates were important for getting around and trading during freezing winters.
Similar items found in Viking settlements across Europe
This discovery in Přerov holds importance beyond its borders. Similar items have been found all over Europe, especially in Viking settlements in places like Scandinavia. Many of these discoveries date back to the 10th century.
The Viking Age in Scandinavian history spanned from the first recorded raids by Norsemen in 793 until the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Vikings navigated the Norwegian Sea and Baltic Sea to reach southern destinations by sea routes.
The Normans descended from Vikings who were granted feudal control over regions in northern France, specifically the Duchy of Normandy, during the 10th century, according to Wikipedia.
These findings show that different cultures shared knowledge about surviving in cold winters. It’s a reminder of how people adapted to harsh conditions and learned from each other, even across great distances.
“We know of other similar pieces found in Central Europe and especially in north-western Europe, in Scandinavia. They mostly come from the same time-frame as the one from Přerov and they are often found in 10th century Viking settlements,” said Schenk.
The bone skate, carefully preserved, will be showcased for the public to see at the Comenius Museum in Přerov Castle. It will serve as a direct connection to the past for everyone who visits, according to Archaeology Mag.
For hundreds of years historians, geologists, scientists and archaeologists have been trying to discover how Minoan civilization came to an end. Credit: w_lemay. CC BY 2.0/flickr
For hundreds of years historians and archaeologists have been trying to find answers as to how the great Minoan civilization of Crete came to an end, but no definitive answer has ever been found.
A Bronze Age culture centered on the island of Crete, what the ancient Minoans built is often regarded as the first true civilization of Europe, with a clear appreciation for art and architecture, all of which was rediscovered in the early 20th century through archaeological excavation.
The Minoan civilization evolved from the local Neolithic culture in around 3,100 BC, with sophisticated urban settlements beginning to be built in around 2,000 BC. After 1,450 BC, the Minoans fell under the cultural and possible political dominion of the mainland Mycenaean Greeks, forming a hybrid culture which lasted until around 1,100 BC.
The Minoans built impressive buildings which were initially labeled ‘Minoan palaces’ by original excavators, and later research showed that they were used for a plethora of religious and economic purposes rather than acting as royal residences – though their precise role in Minoan society is still under debate.
Their palace at Knossos was vast and elaborate, with Europe’s first paved roads and running water. The ancient Greeks wove its magnificence into their myths; it was the home of King Minos and his man-eating bull, the Minotaur, which roamed the palace labyrinth.
The term ‘Minoan’ was coined by Sir Arthur Evans, a British archaeologist and explorer who, along with Greek archaeologist Minos Kalokairinos, excavated the palace of Knossos and the surrounding area and recognized it as culturally distinct from the mainland Mycenaean culture.
Minos Kalokairinos Monument, Palace of Knossos, Knossos, Greece. Credit: w_lemay. CC BY 2.0/flickr
Following this, further excavations uncovered the Palace of Phaistos and the nearby settlement of Hagia Triada, and a further breakthrough in understanding the Minoan civilization came in 1952, when Michael Ventris deciphered Linear B – a late Minoan script first found on clay tablets and sealings in the second palace at Knossos – unlocking a vital source of information on the economic and social organization in the final year of the palace. Minoan sites are still being excavated to this day, with recent discoveries including the necropolis at Armeni and the harbour town of Kommos.
What Was it Like to Live in Minoan Civilization?
The Minoans bred cattle, sheep, pigs and goats, and grew wheat, barley, vetch and chickpeas. They also cultivated grapes, figs and olives, grew poppies for seed and possibly opium. They also domesticated bees.
Vegetable, such as lettuce, celery, asparagus and carrots, grew in the wild on Crete, and pear, quince and olive trees were also native. Date palm trees and cats for hunting, were brought in from Egypt. The Minoans even adopted pomegranates from the Near East. It’s possible that they employed polyculture, with their varied and healthy diet bringing about a population increase.
Linear B tablets convey the importance of orchards (figs, olives and grapes) in processing crops for “secondary products.”
Clay Tablet inscribed with Linear B script. Credit: vintagedept. CC BY 2.0/flickr
Aside from this complex agricultural and food-sourcing framework, the Minoans were also a mercantile people who were heavily involved in overseas trade, and at the civilization’s height, it may well have had a dominant position in international trade around large portions of the Mediterranean.
Minoan manufactured goods suggest a network of trade with mainland Greece, including Mycenae, Cyprus, Syria, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia and westward as far as the Iberian peninsula. Religion in Minoan civilization appears to have been centered on female deities, with women officiants.
Though historians and archaeologists are cautious about claims of an outright matriarchy, the predominance of female figures in power roles over males seems to indicate that Minoan society was matriarchal, and among the most well-supported examples known.
How did it all Come to an End?
Around three and a half thousand years ago, the tiny Aegean island of Thera was devastated by one of the worst natural disasters since the Ice Age – an enormous volcanic eruption.
This cataclysmic event took place around 100km from the island of Crete, the home of the thriving Minoan civilization. Just fifty years after the eruption, the civilization was in ruins. Whether the volcano wiped out the Minoans and is responsible for the fall of their civilization has been a question on historians’ minds for decades.
Early 20th-century archaeologists were aware of the devastating natural disaster, and most believed it probably wiped out the Minoan civilization instantly, but the truth might not be as straight forward as that.
To begin with, very little ash had fallen on Crete, with the prevailing winds having taken the volcano’s ash in the opposite direction. Then archaeologists discovered clay tablets which proved the Minoan civilization survived for around 50 years after the eruption. The question is, what accounted for this long gap?
Vulcanologist Ffloyd McCoy, from the University of Hawaii, is particularly passionate about the Thera volcano and whether it ended the Minoan civilization. According to the BBC, he journeyed around gathering evidence from other scientists around the world, trying to find out if there was a connection between the eruption of Thera and the end of the Minoans.
Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations – Map. Credit: History Maps. CC BY 2.0/flickr
He began on the island of Thera, which was home to thousands and a prosperous trading post for the Minoans until the natural disaster hit. So huge was the volcano that it had great effect, preserving forever the town of Akrotiri.
Strangely, no skeletons have ever been found on the island. Akrotiri’s chief archaeologist, Christos Doumas, believes the people of Akrotiri did not survive, and that the bodies are still to be found.
Prehistoric Site of Akrotiri, Santorini (Thera) Credit: Klearchos Kapoutsis. CC BY 2.0/flickr
McCoy was apparently convinced that huge waves, or tsunamis, had been triggered by the volcano. He thinks these waves carried across the open sea to wreak havoc on the northern coast of Crete – but proof was difficult to find.
In 1997 a British geologist, Dr Dale Dominey-Howes of Kingston University, discovered what he thinks is strong evidence of tsunamis on Crete. He drilled deep into the mud at an inland marsh near Malia in Crete, and brought the mud core back to England with him for analysis.
The mud had been deposited, layer upon layer, over thousands of years. In one section, deep in the core, Dr Dominey-Howes uncovered a tiny fossilised shell which only lives in very deep sea water. He claims the shells were brought into the marsh by an ancient tsunami. A Minoan palace near the marsh was buried at the same level as the shells, which suggests the tsunami could have struck soon after the palace was built.
If there had been a tsunami unleashed by the volcanic eruption of Thera, McCoy was keen to understand how big it may have been. He went to Professor Costas Synolakis of the University of Southern California. Professor Synolakis grew up on Crete, and has become one of the world’s top tsunami-prediction experts, trotting around the globe with his computer models.
Professor Synolakis can also reportedly use his technology to determine the size of a wave from the ancient past. He estimated that waves from thera hitting northern Crete may have been as high as 12m in some places. These waves would have decimated boats and coastal villages, and even travel up rivers to flood farmland. But the waves were only part of the tale, and McCoy believed the volcano must have had wider effects.
An extraordinary discovery by a British geologist resulted in a new theory – that the volcano, which was already classed as one of the most destructive of the last 10,000 years, may have been even bigger than scientists had previously thought. Professor Steve Sparks of Bristol University came across clues in very small fragments of evidence. He was apparently surprised to discover clumps of fossilized algae high on the cliffs of the volcano. These algae only live in shallow waters, and their presence suggested there was once a shallow sea inside the crater of the volcano.
If there was indeed a shallow sea, Professor Sparks realised, the shape of the volcano may have been completely different, and a differently shaped volcano might have produced far more ash. His suspicion was that the volcano may have been twice as powerful as geologists had suspected.
McCoy thinks the volcano caused the Minoans trouble for years. Initially it destroyed an entire island which had been key for their trade, and then huge waves hit the Minoan coasts, devastating coastal villages and boats at the harbour. After that the Minoans faced summers of ruined harvests.
An archaeologist who has worked at Knossos, Colin MacDonald, thinks the effects of these disasters were compounded by something more – the Minoans had started to view their way of life differently. MacDonald claims the Minoan people, stripped of their certainties, ceased to obey the priest kings in palaces like Knossos. This, he claims, marked the beginning of a 50-year decline for the whole of Minoan civilization. They were not in a strong position to fight back when the Greeks from the mainland took control of the island.
Homo erectus reconstruction that also adds to evidence that humans have been speaking for the last 1.6 million years. Credit: Werner Ustorf / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0
New research has identified when humans probably began talking early on in history. A study led by British archaeologist Steven Mithen indicates early humans might have begun using basic language about 1.6 million years ago, probably in eastern or southern Africa.
Mithen, a professor at the University of Reading, emphasizes the significance of this finding. He explains that our ability to speak was an important step in our evolution. Understanding when language began is key to understanding our past.
Basic human language 8 times older than previously thought
Until now, many experts in human evolution believed humans began speaking about 200,000 years ago. However, Mithen’s latest research, published this month, challenges this. Based on his study, basic human language might be at least eight times older than previously thought.
Mithen arrived at this conclusion after thoroughly examining archaeological findings, ancient bones, genetic data, brain studies, and language research. When we look at all the evidence, it points to the birth of language and other changes in human evolution between two and one and a half million years ago.
Starting around 2 million BC, human brains quickly began growing larger, especially after 1.5 million BC. Along with this growth came changes in how the brain was organized internally.
One key change was the emergence of a specific area in the frontal lobe, called Broca’s area. This part of the brain is closely linked with both the production and understanding of language.
Scientists believe Broca’s area evolved from earlier brain structures used by early humans for communication through hand and arm gestures. This suggests a shift from physical gestures to spoken language as a primary mode of communication.
Broca’s area linked to improvements in working memory
Recent scientific studies propose that the development of Broca’s area was connected to enhancements in working memory, which is essential for constructing sentences. However, several other evolutionary changes played a vital role in the emergence of basic language.
Around 1.8 million years ago, a more sophisticated form of walking upright, known as bipedalism, emerged. This change, along with alterations in the shape of the human skull, likely initiated adjustments in the shape and position of the vocal tract. The adjustments were important for enabling speech, as reported by The Independent.
Additional evidence supporting the idea that humans began speaking around 1.6 million BC comes from archaeological findings. Unlike many animals, humans weren’t notably strong. To survive despite this physical limitation, they had to find other means to do so.
Will Aaron Taylor Johnson be the new James Bond? Credit: Wikimedia Commons / John Bauld CC BY 2.0
Speculation is again growing over which actor will take on the role of James Bond after reports that British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been offered the role.
British newspaper The Sun has reported that the Kick-Ass and Marvel movies star has been “formally offered the job” as the 007 secret agent, a role which, until 2021, was played by Daniel Craig.
Craig exited the role after starring in five films over sixteen years. The next Bond film will be the twenty-sixth after No Time to Die.
The BBC reported it has approached Taylor-Johnson, and Eon productions, which makes the Bond films, reportedly does not want to comment on speculation, but a production insider has allegedly told BBC News there is “no truth in the rumors.”
The famous role has been speculated over for some time, and, when he was asked about the rumors claiming he will be the next Bond, Taylor-Johnson recently told Numero magazine he found it “charming and wonderful that people see me in that role. I take it as a great compliment.”
The actor, who played John Lennon in the biopic Nowhere Boy in 2009, is now favorite with the bookmakers to take the role. He also starred in thriller Nocturnal Animals, which he took home a Golden Globe for in 2017, Anna Karenina, Godzilla, and Tenet.
In the last three years since Craig announced his retirement from the role, there have been several names put forward for the next Bond film. Mark O’Connell, author of Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan, told the BBC after Craig’s departure: “A new Bond is not just a red-carpet suit and a timepiece endorsement arm. He must be a movie star, an ambassador for the series and cinema, a media diplomat, an anointed son of British culture and the face of a billion-dollar ecosystem of products and endorsements.”
O’Connell added, “He must be instantly recognizable across all corners of the globe as James Bond. He must be good looking, able to hold the camera and dominate cinema screens the size of football pitches.”
Which other actors could be taking on the role of Bond?
One of the better-known, more high-profile actors who has been touted to be the new Bond is Super Man and Mission: Impossible actor Henry Cavill, who was believed to be in the running to play the spy before Craig got the job.
He told GQ in 2020 that he “would love to play Bond, it would be very, very exciting.”
One of the youngest actors believed to be in with a shot is 32-year-old Damson Idris, best-known for his role in US TV crime drama Snowfall, which ran for six seasons between 2017 and 2023. He also took on the lead role in Netflix’s sci-fi action film Outside the Wire.
Another favorite with the bookies is James Norton, who starred recently inn the stage production of A Little Life and was in the cast of the 2019 film Little Women.
The EU AI Act is a legislative milestone for the future of artificial intelligence. Credit: DALLE for the Greek Reporter
The European Parliament recently adopted the world’s first comprehensive regulation, known as the AI Act, on artificial intelligence.
According to EU officials, this landmark and historic piece of legislation aims to ensure that AI systems that are developed, sold, or used in the EU are safe, transparent, and in accordance with fundamental human rights.
While the AI Act is a very significant step towards responsible AI governance, some people around the world worry its strict requirements could stifle innovation and put Europe at a disadvantage in the global AI race. This could see geopolitical rivals such as China or even the US take a significant lead in the field.
EU’s AI Act takes risk-based approach to AI regulation
The European AI Act takes a fundamentally risk-based approach. It categorizes AI systems into four different levels: unacceptable, high, limited, and minimal risk.
It outright bans certain “unacceptable” AI practices, such as social scoring and real-time biometric identification in public spaces, across the European Union.
For “high-risk” AI used in critical areas for European societies such as healthcare, infrastructure, education, and law enforcement, the EU’s act imposes very strict requirements both on development and testing as well as in monitoring.
Even AI systems that interact with people in their everyday lives, such as chatbots and emotion recognition tools, will face severe transparency obligations if they aim to continue operating in Europe under the new rules.
Nonetheless, according to the new legislation, “limited” and “minimal” risk AI will be subject to much lighter requirements, focusing mainly on transparency and user information.
🚨BREAKING: the European Parliament has officially adopted the AI Act! The EU takes a revolutionary step: pioneering worldwide with binding rules for AI, putting people, democracy and the planet first. pic.twitter.com/oSncF0sQJt
Providers of “high-risk” AI systems will have their work cut out for them in the EU under the AI Act. Before being put on the market and becoming a commercial commodity, these systems must undergo thorough assessments of conformity in order to get the green light. Providers of such services will also need to implement robust risk management systems, meet high data quality standards, and maintain detailed technical documentation that should always be available.
High-risk AI must also enable human oversight and continuously be monitored throughout its lifecycle to avoid dangerous and unwanted complications. If, despite these strict rules, incidents occur, providers will be legally obliged to report them to relevant European authorities, and citizens will have the right to file official complaints.
While these requirements clearly aim to protect the public from the unknown consequences of an uncontrolled AI development, some fear they could be overly burdensome, especially for smaller AI companies and startups that have neither the funds nor manpower to comply with all these regulations.
EU’s AI Act introduces rules for general purpose AI
The AI Act of the EU also includes dedicated rules aimed at foundational models, such as those behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Musk’s Grok.
These general-purpose AI systems, which can be adapted for various applications depending on their use case, will need to comply with transparency requirements regarding their training data, energy consumption, and potential copyright issues that they may encounter.
High-impact general-purpose AI will also face additional obligations. These will include issues such as conducting risk assessments that will help providers deal with potential undesirable eventualities.
However, there is still ongoing debate among MEPs and AI experts about whether these requirements are sufficient enough to mitigate the broader risks posed by increasingly powerful AI systems to our societies as a whole.
EU aims to balance innovation and enforcement in AI regulation
It’s not all doom and gloom, however. To help startups and small and medium-sized businesses navigate and survive the new rules, the AI Act introduces crucial “regulatory sandboxes.”
These sandboxes will work as areas where companies can develop and test their AI systems with useful guidance and support from suitably trained European authorities. Nonetheless, violations of the act following this initial stage can result in hefty fines of up to €30 million or six percent of a company’s global revenue.
Enforcement of these regulations will primarily fall to national authorities, as the EU does not have an EU-wide policing mechanism. Nevertheless, a new EU-level AI Office overseeing compliance and advising on AI policy will be established to support individual member-states with their new duties. Most of the rules will start taking effect in 2025 after a two-year transition period, though some provisions may come into force sooner, depending on the European Commission’s future decisions.
Parliament has approved the Artificial Intelligence Act that aims to ensure safety and compliance with fundamental rights, while boosting innovation.
Will the EU’s AI Act hinder or help AI development?
The EU’s AI Act is a landmark piece of legislation that will undoubtedly shape the future of AI development in Europe and the world. It is among the first such efforts and, according to the European authorities, it seeks to strike a balance between protecting fundamental rights and public safety while still promoting innovation and competitiveness in the AI sector.
However, many things remain to be done to implement these additional rules and governance structures outlined in the act. Its effectiveness will largely depend on how well member states of the European Union enforce requirements and utilize resources provided by the EU to national authorities to support compliance with the new law.
As governments worldwide, including the US and China, find it difficult to keep up with the challenges of regulating astonishingly rapidly advancing AI technologies, the EU’s approach sets an important precedent, which you either support or not.
While some worry that the AI Act could hinder Europe’s AI ambitions and pose hurdles to wider AI development, others argue that responsible AI governance is fundamental and crucial for long-term success.
Only time will tell if Europe has struck the right balance with this groundbreaking legislation.
The Hirschfeld Krater, Ancient Greece, mid-8th century BC, from the late Geometric period, depicting ekphora, the act of carrying a body to its grave. National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Ricardo André Frantz CC BY-SA 3.0
The Greek Geometric Period is a lesser known era in history. However, it ushered ancient Greece from the Dark Age to the Classical Period.
It was a period when Greek society was transformed and the proto-urban society re-appeared. This was a time of innovation. Influences from the Mycenaean past were still felt, while peoples from the Eastern Mediterranean migrated westwards.
Contact with Eastern peoples brought about social upheaval, as there was fast population growth, which, consequently, led to overcrowding and political tensions. These resulted in social, economic, and artistic changes.
These artistic changes in ancient Greece were manifested in the geometric motifs in decoration. The decorative forms, rectilinear, and curvilinear, were drawn on vases and pots with the aid of instruments. These are the main surviving works of art of the era. Hence, later historians conventionally named it the Geometric Period.
The Geometric Period was also the era in which Homer‘s epics the Iliad and Odyssey were written. These later served as the foundation of Western literature.
Opinions as to when the Geometric Period actually began differ among historians. Some place it around 1050 BC while others believe it was in 900 BC. They agree, however, on when it ended, placing it around 700 BC, when the Classical period started.
Geometric shapes influenced from Eastern cultures
Geometric shapes did not appear for the first time in art in the Geometric period. Triangles, squares, spirals, circles, and rhombi had been used in earlier cultures such as in Mesopotamian pottery during the 5th and 4th millennium BC. Even naturalistic subjects, such as landscapes and animals, were drawn with geometric patterns.
Similar patterns were adopted in other areas of West Asia and Asia Minor, but they were not limited in the Middle and Near East. In Central Europe and Greece, Neolithic pottery was decorated with geometric shapes, and so were many vessels of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations.
However, what distinguishes Greek geometric art is the method of arrangement in the surface of the vessel. In previous ages, geometric patterns were instinctive linear symbols of a powerful and incomprehensible nature in a continuous and uncontrolled flow.
In Greek geometric art, there is harmony, rhythm, order, and reasonable natural balance rather than randomness. This is the first known outbreak of the great intellectual leap of Greece from which subsequent Greek thought and art were born.
Geometric Period ceramic Pyxis exhibited at the Wadsworth Atheneum – Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Wikimedia Commons Public Domain
Geometric art was not limited to clay pots and vases. Works of art were created with bronze as well. Bronze human figurines, animals, and birds appeared, initially rare and clumsily made. However, as time passed, they became clearer as to their intent, i.e. depicting a warrior or a woman.
Different styles and workshops emerged depending on the region they were made, such as Attic, Laconian, Corinthian, etc. Characteristic examples are the figurines of horses, frequently represented on open work or solid bases. Many of the bases have patterns on the underside and were perhaps used as seals. Also pieces of jewelry such as pendants, fibulae, bracelets, etc. are found in various types.
Such minor bronze works have been found in graves as offerings. Apart from those, large bronze objects from the Geometric Period have been found. Excavations in sanctuaries have unearthed large tripod cauldrons with round handles adorned with figurines of warriors, charioteers, and animals from the 9th century BC. Their three high legs are decorated with zigzag lines, circles linked by tangents, spirals, etc.
Styles and themes of Geometric Period art
While the Geometric style was spread throughout the regions of the ancient Greek world, Attica had been the most prominent center. The most common themes were funerary, with figures painted solid black using the skiagraphy technique (shadow painting). There were depictions of prothesis (the laying out of the body) and the ekphora (funeral procession) of the deceased.
Chariot racing was also a common theme, along with scenes depicting a circular dance in honor of a deity. Another regular theme was shipwrecks while mythological themes were rarer.
The most important samples, funeral offerings, and the huge funerary vases have been found at the Dipylon cemetery in Athens. The geometric decoration is almost always drawn with a glossy black or brown color on the yellowish surface of the clay and characterized by geometric, usually straight designs such as triangles, squares, rhombi, and crosses decorating the horizontal surrounding strips of the vase.
Greek geometric art was an achievement in ceramic art. It is where the concept of the pure forms and ways of the monumental composition emerged, giving original solutions to the problem of placing three-dimensional forms on the two-dimensional space of the painting surface.
The monochrome rendering of the subjects, the display of bodies and objects from the most visible and easily understood side, and the simultaneous presentation of an art form from different sides—such as torso on the front, head and feet in profile—as well as the organization of works with more reasonable and spiritual criteria rather than aesthetic are principles that 20th century art discovered and reassessed.
Modern art waves, particularly the Analytical and Synthetic Cubism and the Geometric Abstract Art trends, have been based on similar concepts.
Homer’s epics and Hesiod
Most attempts at understanding the Geometric Period are predominantly based on Homer’s epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, and partly on the writings of Hesiod, a historian. However, the society delineated in the Homeric poems is, most probably, that of the Mycenaean Age, that is, before the end of the 12th century BC.
Through thorough study, experts of the 20th century have reached different conclusions. The poems themselves, composed between the mid-8th and mid-7th centuries BC, derive from the oral poetry tradition. They must not be related either to the Mycenaean Age, as formulated from archaeological finds and the texts of Linear B script, or the society of the Archaic period.
On the contrary, they probably concern the conditions prevailing during the Late Dark Age, with particular focus on the world of the aristocrats, their way of life, and ideas. The works of Hesiod, and especially Works and Days, provide information about the life of the peasants towards the end of the 8th century BC.
As in Geometric Period art and its influence on modern art, Homer’s poems have laid the foundation of Western literature.
Greek archaeologist says she had no input in Netflix docudrama about Alexander the Great. Credit: Egisto Sani. CC BY-2.0/flickr
A famous Greek archaeologist who is known for her search for Alexander the Great’s tomb has said she had no input in the Netflix docudrama Alexander: Making of a God despite its featuring her archaeological work in Alexandria.
“Based on my perception of what Alexander was like, I thought their dramatic depiction of him was about half right,” wrote Calliope Limneos-Papakosta in her Newsweek piece. “But I didn’t have any power to influence the production. Of course, I made suggestions to the team. But people in showbiz know their work better than me. I know my own work. And the show was a big success.”
Expanding on her love for Alexander the Great, the Greek archaeologist tells her readers that she was destined to be in the occupation, and with her “combined loves”—of Greece and the Macedonian conqueror—she headed to Alexandria twenty-eight years ago.
“I began my research and faced many difficulties. But I managed to stay in Alexandria, and continue in my work, and the results are very impressive. I consider myself a lucky archaeologist,” writes Limneos-Papakosta.
She tells her audience that when she is excavating, she’s always full of hope that something important will be found, such as a discovery that could change the whole understanding of the project the team is working on. “I have lived many of these moments. I know now through my experiences with excavations that anything can appear and anything can happen.”
Limneos-Papakosta and her team discovered an ancient statue of Alexander the Great in 2009 in a small trench of fifteen square meters with a depth of eight meters, full of soil, debris and water, which she says was a “miracle,” and “one of my [favorite] discoveries.”
Calliope limneos-papakosta has been unearthing the treasures Of ptolemaic egypt for more than 10 years. Among them, an incredible statue Of the legendary conqueror of the ancient world, Alexander the great. pic.twitter.com/h9vAYXK28n
— ḥr nbw 𓅉 | Unique NFTs & Ancient Egypt Threads (@Hr_nbw) April 26, 2022
The archaeologist goes on to describe the other discoveries that have made an impression on her, including the foundation blocks of the vast ancient Alexandrian monumental building, the city’s original royal road, and the Ptolemaic period carved tunnel. “All of these were great moments for me,” she writes.
In the last weeks of the previous excavation season, Limneos-Papakosta and her team came across the beginning of a Hellenistic wall parallel to the monumental building. “We have to excavate the whole area to the building’s south to see if this is a surrounding fortification wall.”
The Greek archaeologist went on to say that this was a “very important discovery” that sheds light on the potential significance of the building, adding that her and her team are focusing on this and, if possible, excavating all parallel walls to learn more.
“The priority now is to identify this building. We are in the royal quarter. We know from ancient sources which buildings were recorded. So this building that we have found is one of them. And all of them are very important and famous. But I cannot so far say which one it is,” Limneos-Papakosta writes.
The archaeologist states how since the National Geographic documentary about her work in 2019—The Lost Tomb of Alexander (not on Netflix)—everybody thinks that she is solely searching for the tomb, but she clarifies that she is also finding very important Hellenistic antiquities during digs in Alexandria.
She believes there is a greater possibility than anyone else of her finding the tomb and writes that “it’s all like a puzzle. Every year, every excavation season, we find something that puts a piece in the puzzle.”
No input in Alexander Netflix docudrama
After commenting on the Netflix drama, saying she had no input in it despite it featuring her work, the Greek archaeologist goes on to explain why Alexander the Great was not a “normal person.”
She writes: “He was a superhuman. What he did in 12 years and eight months—and what he planned to do if he lived longer—was not possible for just anyone. That’s why he is considered the greatest of the greats.”
“We cannot understand or judge him on our level, she said. “We are normal people. Not only that, but we also cannot judge or criticize him by our modern ‘moral’ and ‘ethical’ standards. We are so far from the ancient world. It was a completely different era.”
views of the Parthenon and the Acropolis make “Majestic” the most expensive property. Credit: Sotheby’s
With a price tag of 48 million euros ($52 million) an apartment with a panoramic view of the Acropolis is the most expensive house in Athens.
Sotheby’s says that “Majestic” is a landmark property located on one of Athens‘s most iconic streets, the Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, and could be used as a symbolic private mansion, an art gallery, or a private members club.
With extraordinary views of the Parthenon and the Acropolis, as well as close to other significant cultural sites and monuments, the enviable location is rich in history.
With a strong architectural presence, this striking corner building is one-of-a-kind, the luxury real estate agency says.
The property is situated in one of Athens’s most iconic streets. Credit: Sotheby’s
Features of most expensive apartment Athens
With five floors in total, the ground level consists of two commercial properties of 146 sq.m and 114 sq.m, each with its direct access to the basement, and a 40 sq.m residential apartment.
On the first floor, there are four apartments ranging from 45 sq.m to 115 sq.m, while the second and the third floors consist of two apartments each, ranging from 160 sq.m to 175 sq.m. On the fourth floor, there is a spacious 279 sq.m apartment, while on the fifth floor, an apartment of similar size benefits from direct access to the roof garden.
The interiors impart a sense of grandeur with the use of marble and wood throughout the property adding to the opulent feel, Sotheby’s says. The sweeping staircase with curved marble steps and solid wood and iron balustrade is an impressive feature at the center of this extravagant building.
The sweeping staircase with curved marble steps. Credit: Sotheby’s
An oasis in the center of the city, the roof garden is a great place to relax while enjoying 180-degree views of Athens, from the National Garden down to the sea.
Surrounded by splendid neoclassical mansions, the new Acropolis Museum, and Herodes Atticus’ Roman theater, Majestic is at the epicenter of Athenian cultural life. Simply embrace the feeling of being lost in time and history.
The buyer of this property is eligible for the Greek Golden Visa Program, Sotheby’s adds.
Home prices in Athens are surging
Home prices in Athens are surging making the Greek capital one of Europe’s hottest housing markets, Bloomberg reported recently.
The surge has been driven in part by the long, slow fallout of Greece’s debt crisis. Hundreds of thousands of homes are caught up in legal entanglements, thinning the market and driving up prices in Athens faster than any other major European city.
Greece’s decade-long debt crisis left lenders with €107 billion of soured debt in 2016. Since then, banks have sold bad loans, but with many backed by properties, that collateral has been caught up in efforts to reach payment deals with debtors. While the homes could eventually hit the auction block, the negotiations are squeezing supply.
On top of the shortage, the economy is recovering and providing locals with more spending power, Bloomberg said.
The F-16 jet was participating in a training flight. Credit: Hellenic Air Force
A Greek Air Force F-16 (Block 52+ variant) fighter jet has crashed into a sea off the small island of Psathoura, in the northern Aegean.
The pilot managed to escape from the single-seater aircraft using the ejection system. He was located and collected by a Super Puma helicopter and is being transferred to a hospital.
The fighter jet, which belongs to the 337th Squadron of the 110th Fighter Wing, was participating in a training flight (the area is a firing range), the Hellenic Air Force said in a press release.
Authorities dispatched a Super Puma and a Sikorsky S70 helicopter from Marathon, a Canadair from Thessaloniki, and the frigate Aegeus, which the Coast Guard assisted.
Designed as an air superiority day fighter, the F-16 evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft with over 4,600 built since 1976.
Although no longer purchased by the U.S. Air Force, improved versions are being built for export.
Greek pilots fall in the line of duty
In December 2023 a Greek Air Force pilot was killed when his training jet crashed in the countryside near the southern town of Kalamata.
The accident happened on the last flight of 40-year-old Major Epaminondas Kosteas before he was due to take leave.
In July 2023, the captain and co-pilot of a firefighting airplane in Greecewere both killed when their aircraft crashed on the island of Evia while attempting to put out a wildfire.
Flight Lt. Christos Moulas, 34, and Second Lt. Periklis Stefanidis, 27, were on board the water-dousing aircraft which belonged to the 355 Tactical Transport Squadron, part of the 112 Combat Wing at Elefsina Air Base.
In February 2023, 31-year-old Captain Efstathios Tsitlakidis was killed when the F-4E Phantom II crashed during a training exercise in the Ionian Sea. Co-pilot, Lieutenant Marios Touroutsikas, 29, also died in the accident.
Greece remembers Giorgos Baltadoros, the fighter pilot who died on April 12, 2018, when his Mirage 2000-5 plane crashed into the Aegean after a mission intercepting Turkish jets which had violated Greek airspace.
Eighteen years ago, pilot Konstantinos Iliakis joined those Greek military personnel who over the years fell in the line of duty while protecting the country. It was May 23, 2006 when the 35-year-old Hellenic Air Force pilot lost his life as his plane crashed on Karpathos island in the Dodecanese. He had been trying to intercept Turkish fighter jets which had entered Greek airspace over the Aegean.
These incidents and many others are a reminder of the risks that pilots face every day. They are also a testament to the bravery and dedication of these men and women who put their lives on the line to protect their country.
Archaeological excavations in Leicester have revealed what once may have been a Roman shrine to the Greek god Dionysus. Credit: University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) / PA
An ancient Roman shrine, possibly of the Greek god Dionysus, was discovered recently buried beneath the graveyard of Leicester Cathedral in the United Kingdom.
The find, along with thousands of others, was identified by archaeologists during preparatory excavations for the construction of a visitor and learning center at the cathedral.
The discoveries around the cathedral grounds seem to confirm that it was customary for places of Christian worship to be built over much older ancient Roman ruins.
The discovery
Archaeological excavations around Leicester Cathedral have been underway since 2021. The cathedral itself has been closed since 2022 to allow for a £12.7 building project.
During the excavations in Leicester, archaeologists discovered what they now believe is a Roman shrine to either Dionysus, Isis, or Mithra. However, it is difficult to determine with any certainty what deity was worshipped, as only a broken altar base remains in what was once the basement of a large Roman building near the external wall of the modern cathedral.
“There’s always been a tradition that the cathedral was built on a Roman temple, based on antiquarian discoveries in the 19th Century,” said Mathew Morris, the excavation director for the University of Leicester’s Archaeological Services (ULAS), who are responsible for the excavations.
“We’re now finding a Roman building that looks like it had a shrine status to it,” Morris continued.
“There are no tests that can prove what it was. That it was a shrine is the most likely theory, but there aren’t really any others,” he added.
According to ULAS, the building in which the altar was found was probably built in the second century AD and then deliberately filled in during either the third or fourth century.
The ULAS also said the altar “is carved from local Dane Hills sandstone, quarried 1 mile west of the site near Western Park, and measures 25cm by 15cm. There are decorative moldings on three sides and the back is plain, showing that it would have been placed against a wall.”
The altar discovered in Leicester. Credit: University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) / PA
Who is Dionysus?
Dionysus was a deity in the ancient Greek pantheon, known to the Romans as Bacchus. Like Demeter, Dionysus was a fertility god, but he was specifically associated with the harvesting of grapes and wine-making, and with fruit and vegetation.
This somewhat mysterious god was also associated with insanity, drunken revelry, and religious ecstasy. In many myths, he is accompanied by a retinue of satyrs, male nature spirits with the tails, ears, and sometimes legs of a horse.
Dionysus was also followed by the Maenads. The “raving ones” as they were known, were the most important members of the god’s retinue, and were all women. They were usually depicted in a state of ecstatic frenzy, brought on through a combination of dancing and intoxication.
Worship of Dionysus, or Bacchus as he was also called, was most likely introduced to the Romans by the Greeks who had settled in Magna Graecia (Southern Italy).
The first cult of Dionysus in Rome was probably established around 200 BC in the grove of Stimula near the Aventine Hill. A priestess from Campania established it there, near the temple where Liber Pater (“the Free Father”) had a State-sanctioned, popular cult.
Like Dionysus, Liber Pater was a god associated with wine and male fertility. The early adoption of a cult of Dionysus in Rome may have had a syncretic relationship with this Roman deity.
